How to Best Mature my Nano Tank and Reduce Phosphate

livinlifeinBKK

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Hey reefers, I need some advice for my 10 gallon nano tank... I'll include a few issues I'm having...First off, the tank is about 2 and a half months old and was started with wild live rock...no coral yet and haven't decided yet if I'll make it a FOWLR or just get a few frags but I absolutely want the coralline on the rocks to spread and thrive... I've been wondering why the coralline hasn't spread out to the pieces of rock that are bare and I realized today that my nitrate was definitely below 5 and the phosphate was at .25 so that might be part of the reason. How can I control the phosphates in a nano while also feeding the tank to mature it before adding coral or fish? What should I use? I've been dosing ZeoStart to feed the bacteria to maintain diversity which should also lower the phosphate some but now I think I should add something else...what would be best? Is Seachem Phosguard a good choice? I also think the nitrates being so low have been starving the bacteria leading to a dino problem which I want to address. I have barely been adding any food except phytoplankton to feed the pods because I'm in a fallow period due to velvet. What should I be feeding the tank to mature it and at the same time maximize the coralline growth? Should I dose zooplankton or amino acids or something else? IMG_20220118_202136.jpg IMG_20220118_202108.jpg IMG_20220118_202038.jpg IMG_20220118_202022.jpg IMG_20220118_165407.jpg
 

JacksReef2Reef

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How often are you doing water changes? Do you have any snails or crabs? You could also upgrade your filter or get more or better filtration media. I would stop dosing and do more water changes to get the tank stable
 
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Someone recommended I add a clean up crew to help mature the tank a little which I plan on doing but right now the only resident is a star and a couple little hitchhiker crabs...I haven't added more yet because it seems like I should have a plan to control my phosphate before adding hermits and other crabs that I would have to feed...
 

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My nano from dry rock probably took 6 months to get "stable" and in that time, in between me trying gas pedal success, there were issues. Patience is key. It's something I struggle with mightily though. I know there's some nano keepers that swear by Pro Bio F from aquaforest. I use it still. My tank these days doesn't really meander much from baseline - .08 phos and 10 nitrates.
 
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My nano from dry rock probably took 6 months to get "stable" and in that time, in between me trying gas pedal success, there were issues. Patience is key. It's something I struggle with mightily though. I know there's some nano keepers that swear by Pro Bio F from aquaforest. I use it still. My tank these days doesn't really meander much from baseline - .08 phos and 10 nitrates.
What do you use to control the phosphate? Mine is .25 and that's too high especially considering that my nitrates are barely existent...I know I need to feed the tank though...should I try using Phosguard in the HOB filter I have? With Phosguard I wouldn't have to worry about adding too much like I would with other additives
 

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What do you use to control the phosphate? Mine is .25 and that's too high especially considering that my nitrates are barely existent...I know I need to feed the tank though...should I try using Phosguard in the HOB filter I have? With Phosguard I wouldn't have to worry about adding too much like I would with other additives
I run filter floss and a small UV, and add some of that pro bio f….that’s it. Nanos are too small to try and get cute with filtration. Once it matures it’ll control all the issues itself. I have tried GFO and lanthum early on but it would just cause problems. The GFO stripped the silicates out and I had an awful run with dinos. Here’s were we are today:
95642954-93C0-4EE9-BECB-BB5C2420D988.jpeg
 
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livinlifeinBKK

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I run filter floss and a small UV, and add some of that pro bio f….that’s it. Nanos are too small to try and get cute with filtration. Once it matures it’ll control all the issues itself. I have tried GFO and lanthum early on but it would just cause problems. The GFO stripped the silicates out and I had an awful run with dinos. Here’s were we are today:
95642954-93C0-4EE9-BECB-BB5C2420D988.jpeg
Looks good!
 

Ippyroy

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You can't force a tank to become mature. Only time can do that. PO4 binds with sand and rocks and will release into the water column. Water Changes are not useful for controlling it. You will need to find a different way to control it. A refugium is an option or lanthum chloride. I'm not sure if carbon dosing will do it, but it might. Do you run carbon? If you do, try adding like 1/2 teaspoon of GFO, maybe even a little less. Just be sure to test PO4 regularly.
 

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You can't force a tank to become mature. Only time can do that. PO4 binds with sand and rocks and will release into the water column. Water Changes are not useful for controlling it. You will need to find a different way to control it. A refugium is an option or lanthum chloride. I'm not sure if carbon dosing will do it, but it might. Do you run carbon? If you do, try adding like 1/2 teaspoon of GFO, maybe even a little less. Just be sure to test PO4 regularly.
If he isn't added food currently will the rock reach a point where is has nothing left to leach? I assume that to be true but maybe it would take so long that waiting isn't a good idea?
 
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You can't force a tank to become mature. Only time can do that. PO4 binds with sand and rocks and will release into the water column. Water Changes are not useful for controlling it. You will need to find a different way to control it. A refugium is an option or lanthum chloride. I'm not sure if carbon dosing will do it, but it might. Do you run carbon? If you do, try adding like 1/2 teaspoon of GFO, maybe even a little less. Just be sure to test PO4 regularly.
Thats what I was thinking of doing but I was going to use Seachem Phosguard instead of GFO (very similar product) and run carbon with it...the lanthum chloride I would be worried about overdosing since it's such a small tank
 

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If he isn't added food currently will the rock reach a point where is has nothing left to leach? I assume that to be true but maybe it would take so long that waiting isn't a good idea?
It's my understanding that it will. I cure my rocks for months with many huge water changes to do this. A tiny amount of GFO would work. A very tiny amount and constant testing. Ryan did that with his 360, but he talked about it once. I have done the same. My PO4 was .2 so I added a teaspoon and tested daily. It lowered to .15 in 2 days.
 

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It's my understanding that it will. I cure my rocks for months with many huge water changes to do this. A tiny amount of GFO would work. A very tiny amount and constant testing. Ryan did that with his 360, but he talked about it once. I have done the same. My PO4 was .2 so I added a teaspoon and tested daily. It lowered to .15 in 2 days.
Now this may be a dumb question. I understand coral takes up po4. Would OP adding coral (of they decide to) help eat up the available po4. Or does coral not take up enough po4 to affect that?

I'm hoping these questions help OP, I didn't mean to hijack but I'm curious
 

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Thats what I was thinking of doing but I was going to use Seachem Phosguard instead of GFO (very similar product) and run carbon with it...the lanthum chloride I would be worried about overdosing since it's such a small tank
Just be sure to add very little and test regularly. It's much better to add too little than too much. Id rather go from .25 to .24 than from .25 to 0. Reefing is a marathon and not a sprint. More of an ultra marathon actually. Make a long term goal and have a plan to reach it. Take a lot of small steps to get there with short term goals that are easily attainable with in the larger goal.
 

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Now this may be a dumb question. I understand coral takes up po4. Would OP adding coral (of they decide to) help eat up the available po4. Or does coral not take up enough po4 to affect that?

I'm hoping these questions help OP, I didn't mean to hijack but I'm curious
I'm not totally sure. PO4 at .25 is not bad necessarily. Lots of people run there tanks at that and higher. The most important thing is to not chase numbers and allow the tank to find it's own levels. Randy Holmes-Farley has some articles on a lot of this in the chemistry forum on here. I read his stuff as much as possible and try to go by that. A lot of times I will forget, or get it mixed up. He is my opinion the best source of information for all chemistry related reef issues.
 

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I'm in the process of setting up a frag tank with an IM25. I'm going to use water from my large systems to seed the tank when I do a water change .going to fill it with that water. I also have 2 polyp lab bio rocks maturing in one of my sumps that will be going in for bacteria. I've also read here that instead of doing an actual water change on the tank which isn't a big deal I could just recycle that water into the frag tank. I'm hoping it will help with stability issues.
 
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Just be sure to add very little and test regularly. It's much better to add too little than too much. Id rather go from .25 to .24 than from .25 to 0. Reefing is a marathon and not a sprint. More of an ultra marathon actually. Make a long term goal and have a plan to reach it. Take a lot of small steps to get there with short term goals that are easily attainable with in the larger goal.
Ok, does it need to be GFO or do you think that Seachem Phosguard is worth a try since it works the same according to my research, it's just a lot cheaper here wheere I am (not in USA)
 
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livinlifeinBKK

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And hey guys, should I continue dosing the phytoplankton or does it not really make a difference? Also what about adding some zooplankton or amino acids for the coralline to spread? Would any of this help or would it just be a waste of money?
 

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Ok, does it need to be GFO or do you think that Seachem Phosguard is worth a try since it works the same according to my research, it's just a lot cheaper here wheere I am (not in USA)
Go for it. I'd probably start off with about 1/2 to 2/3 of the recommended amount. Give it a couple of weeks to work, but test PO4 daily.
 

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And hey guys, should I continue dosing the phytoplankton or does it not really make a difference? Also what about adding some zooplankton or amino acids for the coralline to spread? Would any of this help or would it just be a waste of money?
I wouldn't dose anything if you don't have corals or fish yet. Most things will be replaced with regular water changes. Are you culturing your own Phyto?
 
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I wouldn't dose anything if you don't have corals or fish yet. Most things will be replaced with regular water changes. Are you culturing your own Phyto?
No, but I was thinking that the phyto would help grow my copepod population... I already have pods and amphipods in there that I didn't add
 

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